Counting device



July 2, Y w CE COUNTING DEVICE I Filed April 15, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 137 Q 22 50 "In. *"1W WWW-" U ATTORNEY July 2, 1940- J. w. BRYCE2,206,660

' COUNTING DEVICE Filed April is, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3a.. FIG.3.

AMPLIFIER w 6 F|G.4.

(Lipli' 9 M39 INVEN R 1d. a M

ATTORNEY July 2, 1940. J. w. BRYCE 2,206,660

COUNTING DEVICE Filed April 15, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTO n U) @8 o9, Y W LL .ATZTORNEY July 2, 1940. J. w. BRYCE 2,206,660

COUNTING DEVICE Filed April 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 5A.

INVENTOR AT'ToRNEY Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECOUNTING DEVICE Application April 15, 1937, Serial No. 136,965

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in counting devices and has forits principal object the provision of electromagnetically operatedoperating mechanisms which are particularly adapted for very high speedmachine operations.

It has been found that the standard counting devices, such as theregular Veeder counter, when controlled by electromagnetic mechanismsusually are incapable of registering extremely high speed machineoperations due to the timed interval required to energize the countermagnet sufilciently to actuate the counter. To overcome this objection,it has been proposed to provide a series of individual high speed relayswhich are responsive to the control impulses generated in extremelyshort intervals of time. The individual relays are, in effect, transferrelays and are successively operated in such a manner that for eachimpulse energizing the circuit control- 26 ling the series of relays,one relay is energized to indicate the number of the impulse impressedupon the chain of relays and at the same time condition associatedcircuits so that the next impulse is efiective to energize the nextrelay in the chain. I

In the proposed manner, a number of the said high speed relays may beenergized in succession and upon reception of 'a' predetermined impulse,for example, every tentli'or twentieth impulse,

a standard Veeder or similar counter can be actuated, thereby causing anentry into the standard counter and re-conditioning the series of highspeed relays forasimilar counting cycle.

Therefore, further objects of 'the present in- ,vention are the'provisionaof a-plurality of high speed relays successively operated;upon successive reception of the controlrinipulses which may beindicative of completed cyclesof certain machine operations, or thepassage of articles by a predetermined point orthe like; the provisionfor effecting visible registration upon reception of predeterminedimpulses indicating the number of machine operations completed or thenumber of articles which passed the predetermined point; the provisionof automatically re-conditionin'g the chain of high speed relays forfurther operation upon reception of a predetermined impulse; theprovision of successive entry from one series of high speed relays toanother series and automatically conditioning the first series forfurther reception of the control imn l Various other objects andadvantages of the invention will be obvious from the followingparticular description of one form of mechanism embodying the inventionor from an inspection of the accompanying drawings; and the inventionalso constitutes certain new and useful features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in section of the analyzing and controllingportion of a record card controlled sorting machine.

Fig. 2 is a detail of the card controlled contacts.

Figs. 3 and 3a are detailed views of one form of light control devicewhich may be used with the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of a commutator control device.

Figs'. 5 and 5A show schematically a preferred form of the circuitconnections to illustrate the principle of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a plan View of a standard counter unit.

It will be obvious from the description to follow that the presentinvention is applicable to many types of counting operations; however,it is preferred to describe the invention in conjunction with a recordcard controlled machine for the purpose of counting the individualrecords fed to the machine, and with the. understanding that. itsapplication is not limited to the specific mechanism described. 1

One form of record card controlled machine to which the presentinvention is readily adaptable is the card controlled sorting machine,one

type of which is disclosed and described in the U. S. Patent No.1,969,362 issued to E. AJFord, August 7, 1934. Referring now to Fig. 1,a brief description of the machine will be given. 'An

electric motor 6| (Fig. 5) is provided to be corinected to the maindriving, shaft 2| which in turn is connected to the card feeding rollers22 and also to a shaft 23 on which is fixed a cam 24 adapted to move anarm 25 against the action of springs 26. The arm is pivoted at 21 and isconnected at its upper end to a. plate 28 provided with a card picker29. The cam 24 moves the picker toward the left and the springs 26acting against the arm 25 move the picker back toward the right. Eachmovement of the picker to the left causes the lowermost card in' 'thestack 30 to be moved forward into cooperation.

with the first set of feed rollers 22. These rollers then feed the cardto the next set of rollers. As. 11.1

the card is being fed from the first to the second set of rollers itpasses under the electric sensing brush 3|. The rollers then continue tofeed the 35. A disk is provided for each sorting pocket 32, and eachdisk is provided with a drop shoulder so that the said shoulder permitsthe corresponding guide blade 34 to drop at a time intervalcorresponding to the sensing of the corresponding index point positionon the card. In other words, each of the cam disks 36 corresponds withone of the index point positions on the card. The 9 position passesunder the sensing brush before any of the guide blades 34 has beendropped. If there is a perforation in the 9' position, a circuit isclosed through the sensing brush 3| and cooperating contact roller 31ato energize the magnets 33 which are adapted to look all the guideblades in their upper position. Then, when the card reaches the ends ofthe blades at 31 it will pass under all of" the blades and be guidedinto the first pocket or 9 pocket. If there is no perforation in the 9K.

position but one in the 8" position, one of the cam disks 36 will permitone of the guide blades to be dropped just after the 9 position passesunder the brush, and then when the 8 position having a perforationpasses under the brush, the latter will close a circuit to energize themagnets 33 which then locks all the remaining guide blades in position,thus preventing any from dropping. Therefore, when the card reaches theguide blades, it will pass over the top of the lowermost blade and underthe other blades and thus be guided into the second or 8" pocket.Sorting of the cards is effected similarly for those with perforationsin other positions, so that the cards are guided to the individualpockets in accordance with the perforations disposed there- The controlcircuits for the improved counting device will now be described, and itwill be evident from the description that the circuits to be describedcan generally be employed in the desired applications and not limited tothe specific application as shown in conjunction with the cardcontrolled machine for the purpose of detecting the passage of a card bya given point or, in other words, initiating a control signal or impulseeach time a card is fed to the machine for analyzation.

Referring now to Fig. 2, means is provided, to actuate a fast operatingrelay 39 upon the passage of each card through the machine, comprising acard lever 40 and contacts 4|. The card lever is disposed adjacent tothe sensing brush 3| and roller'3l-a, so that upon the passage of eachcard from the sensing station the card lever 40 is operated by the cardpassing through the guides 38 to close the associated contacts 4|,thereby establishing a circuit from the terminals a and b'including therelay 39. After the card has passed the lever 40, the contacts 4| areopened momentarily before the following card again causes them to beclosed.

In Figs. 3 and 3a a different type of controlling circuit is shown tocomprise a light sensitive device 42, such as a photo-cell, which issuitably mounted on the frame 43 of the machine and connected to astandard amplifier 44, the output of which is connected to the fastoperating control relay 33 referred to in the control circuit justdescribed. The light sensitive device is controlled by any suitablelight source as indicated at 45 which is mounted on a bracket 43 fixedto the frame of the machine. The shaft 23 (see Fig. 1) is extendedbeyond the frame 43 of the machine and to which is secured a hollowcommutator-like housing 41 provided with an opening 48. The light source45 is mounted within the housing which is rotated by the shaft 23 sothat when the opening 43 is positioned between the light source andlight sensitive device the said device is operated by the light raysemanating from the source through the said opening and thereby causingthe relay 33 to be operated. The said relay is adapted to be operatedeach time a card is fed past a predetermined point in the machine. Inthis modification, however, the card does not actuate directly thecontrol means for the control circuit. The commutator housing 41 isadjusted so that the openlay 33 to be energized. The operationof thecard levers 49 is well known in record card controlled machines whichare adjusted to be operated to maintain the associated contactscontinuously closed as long as cards are successively fed to themachine. For a detailed description of such card levers, reference maybe made to U. S. Patent No. 1,741,985, Figs. 2 and 6 therein andindicated at MS. Therefore, with cards passing through the machine, thecontacts 43 are maintained in an operated position thus closing thecircuit to the light source 45. Now, as the cards pass a selectedposition in the machine, the opening 45 is positioned between theenergized light source and photo-cell energizing the cell and relay 33.

In Fig. 4, the light source and photo-cell are replaced by a controldisk 50 secured to the shaft 23, said disk provided with a conductingsegment 5| adapted to engage the brushes 52. The conducting segment andbrushes are adapted to be engaged as the card passes a predeterminedpoint in the machine, so that when cards are fed to the machine, thecontrol circuit for relay 33 is closed by both the card lever contacts49 and the brushes 52 connecting relay 33 to the terminals a and b. v

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 5A, a complete control circuit for thecounting device is shown and includes two series of transfer relayswhich represent the units and tens orders as indicated. To simplify thedrawings, the terminals a and b of the first control circuit describedare shown connected to terminals 0 and d respectively.

50 tacts I-b and resistance R-I.

65 ductor 82 to the other side of the line 51.

aaoaoeo key must be held depressed until cards pass the regular cardcontrol contactslQ-a of the machine. These card contacts are similar tothe contacts 49 (described hereinbefore, see Figs. 3

and 4) and are-adapted to be closed continuously until the card feedingis discontinued. With contacts 49-a closed, a holding circuit isestablished through the contacts 59-a and contacts 49-a to shunt thestart key and thereby maintaining relays 58 and 59 and motor 6|operated, until the stop key 60 is depressed.

In addition to operating the contacts 49--a the cards operate thecontacts 4| so as to close and open momentarily upon the passage thereofto operate the relay 39 each time a card passes the said contacts.Energization of relay 39 causes the associated contacts 39-a (Fig. 5A)to be closed, thereby energization of the control circuits of the unitsorder of the counting device is effected to establish the followingcircuit: one side of the line 56 .through contacts 39-a, normally closedcontacts Illg of relay III, normally closed contacts I-c, coil of relayII, common conductor 62 and normally closed contacts 63-a of relay 63(Fig. 5) to the other side of the line 51, energizing relay II. Relay Iis now energized by means of the established circuit from line 56,through contacts 39-11 which still remain closed, conductor 64, contactsIIa, coil of relay I to the common conductor 62 and line conductor 51/The contacts associated with relay I are now operated: the contacts I-band I-c are of the make before break type; that is, contacts I--b 40 areclosed before the contacts I--c are opened.

A holding circuit for relay I is provided through contacts Ia asfollows: one side of the line 55 to conductor 65, through the parallelcircuit comprising contacts 2llc and contacts Iii'b to common conductor66, resistance R,2, contacts Ia, coil of relay I, common conductor 62 tothe other side of the line '51.

As long as the contacts 39a remain closed, the coil of relay I I isenergized through the con- The resistance R-! is of such value that itwill provide holding current for the relay II however, the value of thisholding current is not suii'icient to cause initial operation of therelay II (this statement also applies to any one of the relays II to20).

The purpose of resistance R-2 in the holding circuit described is toprevent a potential holding circuit to be formed for the relay II; for,with relay I! still energized when relay I is energized,

the following circuit is possible: from conductors 56 and to contacts20-0 and I0--b, conductor 66, resistance R2, contacts I-a, contactsII-a, conductor 64, contacts I0g, contacts I-b, resistance R-I, coil ofrelay I I, common con- The resistance R-2, however, is of such valuethat whenever it is in series with resistance R-l the current is limitedto a value insufflcient to maintain the relay II energized. Therefore,when the .0 contacts 39-41. are opened, and this occurs after the relayI or like relay is energized and the holding circuit establishedtherefor, the relay II is deenergized.

It will now be seen, upon initiation'of the next control impulse, namelydue to the energization of the relay 39 (the operation of which isindicative of another machine operation or cycle, in this instance, thepassage of another card through the machine), a circuit is establishedto operate.

lows: line 56, contacts 39-11 now closed, contacts. I I-b, Id, I2-a,coil of relay 2, common conductor 62 to the linei'l. A holding circuitis provided for relay 2 through the contacts 2-a as follows: line 56,conductor 65, parallel circuit through contacts 20-0 and I 0-b,conductor 66, resistor R-2, contacts 2-a, coil of relay 2, commonconductor 62 to line 51. Operation of contacts 2-b connects resistorR--' in series with contacts I-d and coil of relay I2 thus preventingthe operation of relay I2 when deenergized and upon initiation of athird control impulse which, due to the circuit arrangement, is alsoimpressed upon contacts 2--b. For the same reason,

relay II was not operated upon the initiation of the second controlimpulse which not only was impressed upon contacts I I--b but also oncontacts I-b through contacts I 0-9, the current flow through the coilof relay II is limited by resistor R-I associated therewith to theextent that energization of relay II cannot be effected. Upon decay ofthe control impulse relay 39 is deenergized and contacts 39-a are openedthus causing relay I2 to be deenergized. Relay I2 is not maintainedenergized after opening of the contacts 39-0 by the possible backcircuit through the operated relay contacts due to the seriesrelationship of resistances R-I and Rr-2 associated therewith, therebyreducing the current flow through the coil of said relay to a value lessthan the value of the holding current required by the relay. The circuitjust referred to is the following: from line 58 to conductor 55,parallel circuit through contacts 20-0 and III-b, conductor 66, resistor3-2, contacts 2-a, I2-a, 2-b, resistor R,I, coilof relay I 2, commonconductor 62 to line 57.

In a like manner, relay 3 is energized upon initiation of the thirdcontrol impulse and maintained energized by a holding circuitestablished through its associated resistor R-2 and contacts 3-41, relay4 is energized upon initiation of the fourth control impulse, etc. andtherefore evident that the next relay in the chain or series isenergized upon reception of the next impulse. Since relays 3 to 9 havesimilar control elements and circuits associated therewith as the relaysI and 2 and operate in the same manner as the latter, it is believedfurther detailed description is not necessary.

It was previously mentioned that a Veeder or other counter mechanism canbe operated upon the reception of a predetermined number of impulses andfor illustrative purposes let it be as- 4 sition as shown inilg. A sothat upon initiation of the eleventh impulse, relay I will becomeenergized in the manner as described.

Therefore, let it be assumed that relays I to 9, have been energized andare maintained energized by the established holding circuits through theparallel circuit including contacts c and Ill-b. The circuit throughwhich relays I0 and 29 will be energized is through a circuitestablished by the d contacts of the relays previously energized. Forthis reason, the circuit just mentioned must be maintained until theholding circuit for relay I0 is established; to accomplish this thecontacts IIl- -a and I0b are arranged to be the make before break type.Now, assume that the tenth impulse is initiated, due to the momentaryoperation of relay 39 and contacts 39-a; the following circuit isestablished: line 56, contacts 39-a, conductor 64, contacts "-4), I-d,I2-b, 2--d, etc. to I9-b, 9-41 to contacts Ill-d, coil of relay 20,conductor 62, contacts 63--a to line 51, energizing relay 20. Contacts20-a now connect the circuit just described from contacts 9--d to thecoil of relay III to line 51, energizing said relay. The relay I2 is notenergized at this time because the contacts 39-c are opened whenever thecontrol relay 39 is operated; The contacts Ill-c and d are the makebefore break type and provide a holding circuit for relay 20 throughcontacts 9-d, Ill-c and resistor R,-I as long as relay 39 is operated. Aholding circuit for relay III is also established as follows: from line56, conductor 65, contacts 39b now closed, conductor 13, resistor R,-2,contacts I0a, coil of relay Ill to line 51. The contacts Iil-b are nowopened and since contacts 20-0 are open the holding circuits for relaysI to 9 are broken thus restoring the said relays to the normalinoperative position as shown in the figure. Immediately, therefore, asupplementary holding circuit through contacts I-g is established forrelay Ill. The said contacts are connected in parallel to the contacts39-h which are now opened due to the deenergization of control relay 39.At this time, relay 20 is also deenergized to close the contacts 2Ilc.Reenergization of relays I and II is prevented during the interval ofthe tenth impulse and a holding circuit established therefor uponclosure of contacts 20-0. by providing the contacts Ill-g in the controlcircuit, the last mentioned contacts are opened upon energization ofrelay I0 thus preventing faulty energization of relays I and II.

Provision must be made to close the said control circuit uponenergization of relay I0 because the contacts Ill-g are maintained in anopen position as long as relay It remains energized, which is a timedinterval equivalent to the time required for the relay I to be energizedto open the contacts 1-g. Therefore, the control contacts I2--b areprovided. Relay I2 is connected in parallel to relay I9 and therefore isenergized by the holding circuit established for relay III whenever thecontacts 39-0 are closed. These contacts are closed upon the decay ofthe tenth impulse and at that time relay I2 is operated to close thecontrol contacts 12-4), and contacts '|2a which establish a holdingcircuit for the said relay. Relay I2 is deenergized when the relay I0 isdeenergized. thus the control circuit is conditioned for the receptionof the control impulses either by contacts Upon reception of theeleventh impulse relays II and I are energized as described hereinaboveto establish successively series circuits so that the following relay inthe chain is energized upon initiation of the next control pulse.

It isunderstood that contacts Ill-e are closed for the entire timedinterval until relay 1 is reenergized by the seventeenth impulse. Inthis manner, sufficient time is. provided to permit the,rnore sluggishand slower electromagnetic actuated counter indicated at II to beoperated to enter one in the units order of the counter. Referring toFig. 6, a typical and well known counter unit is shown and it isbelieved mention need only be made of the fact that upon eachenergization of the magnets II, the units indicating wheel is positionedone step, and upon positioning from 9 to 0, a 1 is added in the tensorder in the usuaL manner, etc. Resetting of the counter is effected bya reset handle II. For a detailed description of the counter unit,reference may be made to the U. S. Patent No. 2,043,295, wherein themagnets are indicated by the reference character 66 and the reset handleby character I68.

To stop the operation of the machine, a stop key 60 is provided andassuming that the contact arm of switch 16 is positioned on contact a,operation of the key opens the holding circuit to relays 58 and 59,deenergizing said relays and consequently the motor 6|, therebypreventing further machine operations such as the feeding of cards. Ifit is desired to automatically stop the machine upon completion of atenth operation or multiple thereof, that is, immediately upon entry ofa digit in the counter II, the contact arm of switch 16- is positionedto engage contact b which is connected to a normallyclosed contactIli--h operated by relay I9. It is evident, then, if the stop key 60 isoperated, and let it be assumed at that moment a control impulse wasinitiated to operate relay 3, the motor circuit is not deenergizedimmediately, due to the closed shunt circuit including contacts III-h.

The stop key is kept depressed until the tenth impulse or multiplethereof is effective to operate relay I0, thereby opening the contactsIII-h,

thus preventing further feeding of the cards.

In the event the machine is stopped before the relay I0 has beenoperated to effect a visible entry into the counter II, supplementaryreadout or indicating means should be provided to enable one todetermine the exact number of machine operations "completed. The readoutmeans may comprise a circuit as shown connecting the contacts I-e, 2-eto 9e in series whenever all the relays I to 9 are deenergized. Uponoperation of the key 11 at this time the 0 indicating lamp I8 isenergized. Connected to each jv contact of the relays I to 9 is anindicating lamp I8 to identify the associated relay; thus upon operationof the key 'I'I when any one of the relays I to 9 is energized, thecorresponding indicating lamp is energized.

It may be necessary to provide more than one chain of counting relayswhen certain machine operations are counted at an extremely high rate ofspeed. Therefore, in Fig. 5, a second series of relays are shownconnected exactly as the relays in Fig. 5A and thus it is not necessaryto describe further the operation of the second chain of relays exceptto state when the second chain is to be operated the switch III isplaced in position (b) so that when the contacts I Ile are closed, themagnet II is not energized, but instead the control circuit 89 for thesecond series of counting relays representing the tens order.

When two series of relays are connected in series by means of switch I0as shown, ,it is necessary to provide an additional controlrelay suchside of the line 58- to conductor 65, switch I0, contacts I 0--e toconductor 80, coil of relay 8| to the other side of the line 5'I.throughthe contacts 6 3-b, and also by means of conductor to contacts IO-g tothe contacts 0 of relay IOI, and coil of relay III and common conductor83, contacts 63-b to the line 51 to energize the relays III and BI.Relay I0l is energized and maintained operated by the circuitsestablished by operation of relay III exactly in the same manner asrelay I which was described in detail hereinbefore and need not berepeated. Contacts Iii-e remain closed for seven entries in the unitcircuit until the contacts 'I-g and 39-12 are opened thus breaking theholding circuits for relay I0. Upon deenergization of relay I0, therelays 8! and III are deenergized. Relay IN is maintained operated thusestablishing a circuit to energize relays II2 and I02 upon the secondoperation of relay I0 closing the contacts I0-e for another interval oftime equivalent to seven entries in the units order. In this manner,relays I02 to H0 are operated upon every tenth operation of the relayI0.

Let it be assumed that relays IOI to I09 are energized and that relays Ito 9 are energized and that contacts 4! are now closed to energize therelay 39 thereby closing the contacts 39-0,, 39-h, and opening thecontacts 39--c, causing relay I0 to be energized closing the contactsI0e which are then maintained in an operated position for seven entriesin the units order. Closure of contacts I 0e at this time causes therelay Hi to be energized as described before closing its contacts 8I-aand opening the contacts 8I--b. Relay I20 is also energized through thecircuit established by the contacts IIO-g and the d contacts of relay I0I to I08. Upon energization of relay I20, through the contacts a. ofrelay I20, the relay H0 is energized establishing a holding circuitthrough the-contacts a of relay I I0 and contacts 8 I--a as follows:

one side of the line 56, conductor 84, contacts 8Ia, conductor 85,resistor R2, contacts a of relay IIO, coil of relay IIO, conductor 83,contacts 63-12 to line 51. As mentioned in connection with relay III,the adjustments of the contacts a to e of relay IIO are the same, thusthe contacts a of relay IIO make before contacts I) of relay H0 break.Therefore, the holding circuit for relay H0 is established before thecontacts b of relay IIO open the holding circuitsfor relays IOI to I09,deenergizing said relays. It is seen that a parallel circuit is nowestablished by contacts SI-c and contacts g of relay I0I to maintainrelay III) energized, so that upon deener'gization of relay M, therelay. H0 is not deenergized.

The magnet II is energized to enter I upon the closure of contacts e ofrelay IIO through the following circuit: line 56, conductor 84, switch82,

contacts e of relay I I0, conductor 86, coil of magnet II to line 51.

Now upon energization of relay 1 in the units order, relay I0 isdeenergized, opening contacts l0-e, deenergizing relay 8|. Relay I III,of course. remains energized until relay I0! is operated to open thecontacts a of relay I0I to break the holding circuit for relay IIO.Therefore, it is seen that contacts IIO-g are opened as long as relay II0 remains energized. Closure of contacts 8 I--b now permits the relayI2I, connected in parallel with relay M0, to be energized and establisha holding'circuit therefore through the contacts I2I-a. Operation ofrelay I2I also causes the contacts I 2 I-b to be closed so that when thecontacts I0-e are again closed, relay I01 can be energized as justdescribed. The timing of operation of contacts I I0 g and I2I--b isdifferent from the timing ofoperation of the contacts III-g and 12-h.This change is necessary when the two chains of high speed relays areconnected in series, otherwise faulty operation of relays III and INwould be effected. It is evident if the contacts I2I-b closed uponoperation of relay H0 and the decay of the control impulse (operatingrelay 39), since contacts I0--e remain closed for seven entries, afaulty entry would be made by energizing the relays III and IOI. Forthis reason, relay PM is controlled by contacts 8I--b which are operatedby the extra control relay BI rather than by the relay 30 as in theunits order. Therefore, it is obvious that just by duplieating the chainof counting relays as shown in the units order and connecting the saidchains of relays in series, an operative two-order chain relay countingdevice cannot be effected, instead a control circuit, as described, isnecessary to change the timing of the operation of contacts IIO-q andI2I---b.

Similar indicating lamps are associated with the relays I0! to I09 sothat the certain relays operated at a particular time can be indicated.Similarly to stop the counting device upon an even multiple number ofoperations, that is, immediately after entry in the indicating wheeltype of counter, the contact arm of switch It can be positioned oncontact 0, so that upon operation of the stop key -60, the machine isnot stopped until the contact IIO--h is opened which is controlled byrelay IIO.

To reset the high speed relays to the normal inoperative position, shownin the drawings, a

reset key is provided which upon operation en- 4 ergizes the relay 63opening the associated contacts 63a and b which, it is remembered, areincluded in the holding circuits for all the high speed relays I to 20and I 0| to I20, respectively.

If it is desired to extend the orders of the counter relays, a similarchain of relays forthe hundreds order may be connected to switch 02including a control relay similar to relay 8|, just as the tens order ofrelays are shown connected to switch 10.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, itwill be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changesin the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operationmaybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritof the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only asindicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, aplurality of relays, a control circuit and means to energize saidcircuit successively, means to operate one of said relays uponenergization of the circuit, means to operate I a second relay uponoperation of the first mentioned relay, means to maintain the secondrelay operative and the first relay inoperative upon deenergization oithe circuit, and means, including the latter relay after being set tothe aforesaid inoperative position, for energizing a third relay uponenergization of the control circuit a second time.

2. A device oi the character described comprising, in combination, aplurality of relays, a control circuit and means to energize saidcircuit successively, means to operate one of said' relays uponenergization of the circuit, means under control 01' the last mentionedrelay upon operation thereof for operating a second relay, means tomaintain the second relay operative and render the first relayinoperative upon deenergization oi the circuit, means to maintain thefirst relay inoperative upon the second energization of the circuit, andmeans, including the latter relay after being set to the aforesaidinoperative position, for operating a third rlay upon said secondenergization of the circuit 3. A device of the character described,comprising in combination, a series of groups of relays, each groupincluding a control relay and a companion relay, a control circuit forsaid series and means to energize the circuit, means to operate thecontrol relay of one of said relay groups upon energization ofsaidcircuit, means effective upon operation of the control relay to operatea companion relay of the same group, means to maintain said companionrelay energized and said control relay deenergized upon deenergizationof the control circuit, and means controlled by the operated relay groupfor causing the next group of the series to be operated under thecontrol of said circuit.-'

4. A device of the character describedya plurality of sets of relaysarranged to form a series, each set including a control relay and acompanion relay, a control circuit for said relay series, means toimpress impulses on said control circuit, means to cause the operationof one of said relay sets including means to energize the control relaythereof upon the occurrence of one such impulse, means controlled by theenergized control relay for automatically operating a companion relay ofthe same set, means to maintain the latter relay energized while thefirst energized relay is deenergized and maintained deenergized upontermination of the impulse, and means controlled by the condition of therelays of the operated set for causing the next set of relays to beoperated.

5. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, animpulse circuit for emitting impulses, a series of relay devices, eachwith means responsive to the impulse circuit and aaoaaeo vices upon theoperation ot a predetermined number of said devices, and means alsounder control of the relay devices to maintain the said work circuit inoperated condition until a predetermined succession of said devices haveagain been operated.

6. I A device of the character described comprising, in combination, animpulse circuit for emitting impulses, a series of relay assemblies,each with means responsive to the impulse circuit and means controlledby the last-mentioned means for directing the next impulse to the nextrelay assembly, whereby the relay assemblies'are operated successivelyby a succession of impulses, means to maintain portions of the energizedrelay assemblies in an operated condition upon the interruption of animpulse, a work circuit, means controlled by one of the relay assembliesfor imparting and maintaining a control impulse to said work circuitafter a predetermined number of said relay assemblies have beenenergized and concomitantly rendering the maintaining means Y of thepreviously energized relay assemblies inoperative so as to deenergizesaid assemblies, and means under control of the relay assembly whichimparts the control impulse and another of said relay assemblies toprolong said impulse until a predetermined number of the deenergizedrelay assemblies are again operated.

'7. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, animpulse circuit for emitting impulses, a series of relay organizationseach having means responsive to the impulse circuit and means controlledby the last-mentioned means for routing the next impulse to the nextrelay organization whereby the relay organiza tions are operatedsuccessively by a succession of impulses, means to maintain portions ofsaid energized relay, organizations in an operative condition uponinterruption of an impulse, a work circuit, means under the control ofone of the relay organizations to direct a control impulse to said workcircuit after a predetermined number of said relay organizations havebeen operated and concomitantly causing all of said operated relayorganizations to become deenergized except the one which effects thecontrol impulse, and means effective upon initiation of said controlimpulse and a preselected one of the denergized relay organizations toprolong said impulse until a certain number of said deenergized relayorganizations are again operated.

J ANIES W. BRYCE.

